Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Vulnerabilities

Command Injection Vulnerability Found in BitTorrent Sync

A serious security flaw in BitTorrent Sync can be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code, according to an advisory published over the weekend by HP’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI).

A serious security flaw in BitTorrent Sync can be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code, according to an advisory published over the weekend by HP’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI).

BitTorrent Sync is a peer-to-peer file synchronization application developed by San Francisco-based Internet technology company BitTorrent, Inc. Available for all the major mobile and desktop platforms, the tool allows users to sync files between local or remote devices. In August 2014, BitTorrent reported that the app had more than 10 million user installs, with a total of over 80 petabytes of data transferred.Vulnerability found in BitTorrent Sync

Andrea Micalizzi, also known as “rgod,” has identified a btsync protocol command injection vulnerability (CVE-2015-2846) that can be exploited for remote code execution. The researcher reported his findings to BitTorrent in early November 2014 through ZDI.

“The vulnerability relates to how BitTorrent Sync handles URLs with the btsync protocol. By navigating the user to a specially formed link starting with btsync:, an attacker can inject arbitrary command line parameters that will be passed to BTSync.exe. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of the current user,” ZDI wrote in its advisory.

The severity of the vulnerability has been rated as “high,” with a CVSS score of 7.5. However, arbitrary code can be executed on vulnerable systems only if the attacker can trick the victim into visiting a malicious page or opening a specially crafted file.

BitTorrent told SecurityWeek that security is a top priority for the company and that the vulnerability was addressed shortly after it was reported in November.

Micalizzi has identified security holes in numerous products over the past period, including ones from HP, Novell, IBM, Oracle, Samsung, Rockwell Automation, and Dell. He has also reported vulnerabilities in various Schneider Electric products, such as Pelco video management software, and ProClima thermal management software.

*Updated with information from BitTorrent

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Written By

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Vulnerabilities

Less than a week after announcing that it would suspended service indefinitely due to a conflict with an (at the time) unnamed security researcher...

Data Breaches

OpenAI has confirmed a ChatGPT data breach on the same day a security firm reported seeing the use of a component affected by an...

IoT Security

A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car...

Vulnerabilities

A researcher at IOActive discovered that home security systems from SimpliSafe are plagued by a vulnerability that allows tech savvy burglars to remotely disable...

Risk Management

The supply chain threat is directly linked to attack surface management, but the supply chain must be known and understood before it can be...

Cybercrime

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft calls attention to a series of zero-day remote code execution attacks hitting its Office productivity suite.

Vulnerabilities

Patch Tuesday: Microsoft warns vulnerability (CVE-2023-23397) could lead to exploitation before an email is viewed in the Preview Pane.

Vulnerabilities

The latest Chrome update brings patches for eight vulnerabilities, including seven reported by external researchers.